


Pocket Prince

by AngryBread



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tickling, alternate universe - Zagreus is small now, no nobody knows why
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27730957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryBread/pseuds/AngryBread
Summary: Thanatos has to bring his tiny prince to work and Zagreus does not behave himself.
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	Pocket Prince

This was not what Thanatos had in mind at all. He really should have known better than to tempt the Fates, but his yearning was too difficult to conceal. He wanted to be able to see Zagreus more, to spend more time with him. He had not expected **this**.

Nestled sweetly in his hand was an exceedingly small Zagreus.

He was there in all his features and dress but… small. Roughly the size of a chthonic companion but very much alive. He was beaming up at Thanatos with a wide grin much more powerful than should have been possible for something its size.

Thanatos knew he had to protect his love until he had adequate time to lift whatever enchantment had befallen Zagreus, but he was unsure of how. Death had a full day of work to do and it was grim work at that. What had even happened to allow such a thing as this? It was outside of his knowledge.

Thanatos lifted him to his shoulder and carefully tucked Zagreus into his cowl. “Stay here where it’s safe,” he commanded. _So that I can protect you_ is what he dared not voice.

The prince was never good at following directions and immediately began searching for a comfier spot. He scrambled over Thanatos’s gorget and through the silvery strands of his hair, tiny hands running through the soft curtain as he went. He brushed against the short hairs at the back of Thanatos’s neck which had the older god doing his best to hold back a smile. Sensing he had gotten a response, Zagreus ran his hands through the short, soft fluff until he felt some of the tension in Thanatos melt just a bit. Thanatos had always enjoyed the caress of Zagreus’s fingers through his hair in their private moments.

Never one to stay still, Zagreus began to move to Thanatos’s other shoulder when he misplaced his footing and slipped down the brilliant gold of his collar. Tiny fingers scrabble for purchase but the metal is too slick, and Zagreus fell downwards into the inky blackness of Death’s chiton. The sensation sent a shiver down the god’s spine as Zagreus panicked and grasped the fabric wrapped around Thanatos’s waist. He began to climb back up the chiton when he felt a gauntleted hand scoop him up and into the bright sunlight of the surface.

“Please behave Zagreus,” Thanatos sighed as he placed him back into his cowl.

With that, Death resumed his duties. Zagreus did as he was told and hid in Than’s cowl for the first few souls but as always, he grew impatient. He peered out at the faces of the dying, most lined with age and saw the peace that crossed their faces as they beheld the beautiful face of Death Incarnate.

Thanatos was leaning forward and reaping yet another such soul when Zagreus took the opportunity to shift from his post inside the cowl. He aimed for the gaping front of Thanatos’s chiton and managed to quietly hide himself in the folds. It was there that he laid in wait. Death was too busy to notice that his passenger was missing.

Thanatos was guiding the soul to the edge of the underworld when Zagreus decided to strike. It was soft at first, a gentle swipe of his fingers against the taut muscles of the god’s side. Thanatos gave a little twitch but nothing more. Zagreus grew more bold. He laid all of his strength into tickling Thanatos’s stomach as mercilessly as he could. Thanatos suddenly squirmed, jerked about and bent in half trying to dislodge Zagreus from his tickling spot to no avail. A rare, ringing laugh was Zagreus’s reward. His laugh sounded of small bells chiming mixed with the warm, richness of Thanatos’s voice. It filled Zagreus’s chest full of so much adoration that he stilled, if only for a moment.

Thanatos’s cheeks started to turn golden as he realized that he had broken his professional visage in front of a mortal soul. He prayed that the other gods would not hear of this. Trying to maintain some shred of dignity, he straightened and said nothing while hurriedly ushering the shade onward, turning to avoid the questioning look they wore. Task completed; he turned his attention to the returning flutters of Zagreus’s fingers. Writhing, unable to keep a quiet giggle from escaping his lips, Thanatos reached into his chiton. Zagreus deftly avoided his fingers and continued around his waist to his side. He had barely begun tickling again when he was thrown into Than’s lower back from a particularly strong reaction. Thanatos’s laughter pealed out louder than before, completely unable to keep it inside as Zagreus’s flaming feet grazed his side.

Righting himself, Zagreus placed a hand on Thanatos’s back to steady his footing. His back was smooth and cool to the touch. Zagreus remembered all the times he had lovingly caressed it during their time together and instead of a harsh tickle, he laid gentle strokes, just the way Thanatos liked them. They stayed that way for a short time before Thanatos pulled him away. Instead of his cowl, Thanatos nestled him next to his heart, doing his best to create a makeshift pocket.

From his new and much comfier spot, Zagreus could feel the quickened beating of Than’s heart. “Who would have guessed Death Incarnate was ticklish?” A devilish smile widened across his face.

“If you say as much as one word of this to anyone, I swear Zag,” he started to threaten.

“Who, me? I wouldn’t dare,” he feigned as he drifted a few fingertips over Thanatos’s nipple.

Thanatos sighed. _If he’s going to be this much trouble, I need to bring him back to the house. Now._

He started to shift back to the House of Hades but not before he placed a loving kiss on the top of his tiny prince’s head.

**Author's Note:**

> A short little ficlet I wrote based off some silly ideas I had along with Tears and Max.


End file.
